Cold Rolled Vs Hot Rolled Steel Sheet

Hot rolled steel involves rolling the steel at high temperatures where cold rolled steel is processed further in cold reduction mills where the material is cooled followed by annealing and or tempers rolling.

Cold rolled vs hot rolled steel sheet.

There are some fundamental differences between these two types of metal. The differences between hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel relates to the way these metals are processed at the mill and not the product specification or grade. Hot rolling is mainly used to produce simple cross sections or sheet metal. Hot rolling and cold rolling are two methods of shaping steel.

Alternatively cold rolled steel has sharp edges a very smooth surface texture and an oily or greasy feel to it. Cold rolled has sharper corners and more precise dimensions than hot rolled. Whereas cold rolled steel is processed in cold reduction mills followed by annealing and tempering. Hot rolled steel has rounded edges a rough surface texture and no grease on its finish.

This looser tolerance makes it easier to force the metal into a variety of different shapes. In this article we will compare hot rolled vs cold rolled steel sheets. During cold rolling the steel is annealed or exposed to heat and allowed to cool which improves ductility. Hot rolled is manufactured in a single or two step process heating pre rolled steel beam blanks to such a high temperature that it allows it to be easily shaped and formed into sheet pile.

Cold formed is manufactured in two steps. Cold rolled has a smooth and shiny finish while hot rolled has a grey and scaly finish. Hot rolled steel involves rolling the steel above re crystallization temperatures. During the hot rolling process steel is heated to its melting point while being worked changing the composition of the steel to make it more malleable.

When the hot rolled metal cools it will reconfigure making the finished product with a looser tolerance when compared to the cold rolled metal.